This invention relates to drive systems and especially to automotive drive systems. A system is presented which converts internal combustion power to stored fluid power without the use of crank mechanisms or piston bounce chambers and uses that stored power to drive road or other vehicles.
Automotive drive systems currently used are major contributors to air pollution and fossil fuel reserve depletion. Stored energy drive systems in which an internal combustion engine is run primarily at its high efficiency conditions, its energy stored and used as needed can drastically reduce those drawbacks.
No practical system of this type is in use today. Among the factors contributing to that apparent impracticality are these, in random order:
1. Overly complex and bulky hydro-mechanical arrangements. PA0 2. Lack of accommodation for ambient atmospheric condition variation. PA0 3. Excessive fluid flow-losses in valves and passages. PA0 4. Inadequate leakage compensation and control. PA0 5. Unacceptable vibration. PA0 6. Overly complex power piston synchronization means. PA0 7. Lack of simple starting arrangements. PA0 8. Lack of adequate controls. PA0 1. Means for adjusting the accumulator pressures to the variations in atmospheric conditions. This permits the effective operation of the drive system over the wide range of atmospheric conditions to which road vehicles are subjected. PA0 2. The utilization of a stepped-diameter piston in the simplified main fluid flow passages to synchronize the power pistons. This eliminates the cumbersome external mechanisms used here-to-fore. PA0 3. The utilization of a compression initiating valve release system controlled for both pressure and time. This permits release of this valve at the maximum pressure level appropriate to the ambient atmospheric conditions with sufficient time delay to insure optimum charging of the cylinder with fresh mixture. PA0 4. The utilization of synchronized opposed pistons in cylinders at a broad "Vee". This insures that the pistons and the piston/fluid flow masses will have minimum vibrational effects. PA0 5. The utilization of a piston start-up cycling system isolated from the normal running of the engine. This insures a start-up system free from the wear, tear, noise and friction involved in engine running. PA0 6. Means for monitoring the positional relationship of the three main pistons and methods of adjusting the same to a normal relationship if out of position. This permits establishment of a normal positional relationship among the three main pistons at start-up and the continued correction for any errors brought about by leakage or other factors. PA0 7. The utilization of an hydraulic processing unit for sequencing in conjunction with the computing unit the various operations involved in pre-start-up system conditioning, engine start-up, engine running, and system shut-down. This provides the auxiliary hydraulic functions required in the system's operation. PA0 8. The utilization of computer means which is programmed to process the inputs from the atmospheric sensors, pressure, temperature and humidity, the piston synchronization pick-ups, the start-up system switches, the delay time element and other inputs essential to proper road vehicle use and control. PA0 9. The utilization of shut-off valves between the high and low pressure fluid storage chambers and the system's drive motor to be closed whenever no drive power is needed. Such shut-off valves substantially eliminate a major source of fluid power loss through leakage. PA0 10. The providing of means of shutting off fluid flow from high pressure accumulator when motor over-speeding occurs.